Flexible conduit.



M. P. MCLAUGHLIN. FLEXIBLE CONDUIT.

APPLICATION FILED JuNsa. 1918,

1,285,291 Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

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M. P. MCLAUGHLIN.

FLEXIBLE CONDUIT.

APPLICATION FILED IuNEa. IsIs.

1,285,291. PIIIQIIIQII Nov. 19, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'UNITED ,STATES PATENT OFFCE.

MILTON P. MOLA'UGHLIN, 0F wAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-'THIRD TO FRANK F. COGGIN, 0F MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLEXIBLE CONDUIT.

Specification ot Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 19,1918,

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known 'that I, MILTON P. MoLAUoH- LIN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing vat Wakefield, in the county of Middlesex tions of conduits employed on railway trains for conducting iiuids such as steam or air, said flexible portions being located between train units and conforming to independent movements of said units.

- The object of the inventon is to provide a simple and durable iexible conduit ada ted to permit the passage of ,iiuidls with less rictional resistance than heretofore, so that a iiuid may pass without serious frictional resistance from end toend of a train.

The invention is embodied in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specicatiom- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a flexible conduit embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, ind a plan view of the conduit below said Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4--4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a side View of the recessed annular gasket hereinafter described. l

Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a diiierent embodiment of theinvention.

Fig. 9 shows in perspective the members of one of the two elbow-shaped conduit elements shown by Fig. 1, said members being separated.

The same reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in all of the figures.

My improved conduit is substantially U- shaped and includes two terminal conduit parts 12, each having an external screwthread 13 at its outerr end whereby it is adapted to be coupled to a, fixed conduit part, not shown, on a train unit. The inner end portion 12a of each terminal conduit part 12 constitutes a male swivel joint member which is preferably enlarged and provided with an annularshoulder 14. Td'tbe inner end portions of the terminal parts 12 are secured internally lcylindrical hinge socket members 15, the axes of which are at right angles with the axes of the terminal members, each member 15 being provided with a lateral sleeve o r nippleV 16, forming a female swivel joint member internally formed to fit the male joint member 12a of a terminal coupling part 12, and threaded to engage a gland 17 between which and the shoulder 14 is interposed a compressible gasket 18. Each socket member 15 andnipple 16 vconstitutes a T head forming a part of a swivel joint and hinge connection.

The nipple 16 constitutes a part of the fluid passage through the conduit, as shown by Figs. 3 and 4".

Fitted to turn or rock in the socket member 15 is an externally cylindrical fluid-conducting hinge pintle member 19, closed at its ends and having a transverse fluid-conducting passage formed as here shown by diametrically opposite openings 20 and 21, andv the chambered interior of the pintle 'member, said openings and chambered interior forming portions of the conduit, the opening 21 being tapped to engage the threaded outer end of an elbow-shaped conduit part 22 which 'extends through a segmental slot 23 formed in the side of the socket member 15 opposite the nipple 16. The length of said slot is such that the conduit' part 22 is adapted to oscillate asY indicated by'full and dotted lines in Fig. 1, the pintle member 19 being therefore adapted to turn or rock in the socket member.

The elbow-shaped member 22 includes a relatively vertical portion, a relatively horizontal portion, and an arcuate bend connecting said portions and y considerable length, so that the bend is adapted to change the direction of fluid p assing through the conduit, without objectionable rictional resistance.

To form a fluid-tight joint around the opening 20 of the pintle member, l provide a compressible annular or tubular iiuid conducting gasket 25, preferably of soft rubber formed externally to fit the interior of the nipple 16 and having recesses 26 in its inner end, conforming to a portion of the periphery of the pintle member 19, said recesses collectively forming a face yentirely surrounding the opening 20.

The gasket 25 ris yieldingly pressed against the pintle member 19 by the spring 27 seathaving a radius ofv vertical When the invention is embodied in a conduit for use between a locomotive engine and its tender, or for any purpose not requiring a separable connection between the elbowshaped conduit parts 22, the construction may be as indicated by Fig. 8, in whichthe elbow-shaped parts 22", 22c are connected by a single swivel oint and hinge connection. Said connection includes a hinge socketmember 31a similar to the socket member 31 and having a sleeve or nipple 31b constitutingv a female swivel joint member adapted to turn on a male swivel joint member on the part 22". The socket member 31 is adapted to turn on a pintle member not shown, similar to the pintle member` 34 and tapped to engage the conduit member 22 This form of flexible conduit is adapted to conduct oil from the tender to the fire-box of an Oilburning locomotive. It may also conduct any other fluid.

Each embodiment of the invention comprises a central flexible fluid-conducting means between the horizontal portions of the elbow-shaped conduit parts, including coacting swivel joint members substantially coaxial with said horizontal portions, and coacting hinge members permitting upward and downward movements of said horizontal portions and of the 'central conducting means. Said swivel joint members are essential to the durability of the conduit and prevent liability of breakage of the same at the central portion by a transverse inclination of one train unit relatively to the other due to track imperfections and other causes.

I claim:

1. A flexible conduit element'comprising a terminal conduit part adapted to be fixedly secured, a movable terminal conduit part provided with a coupling member, an intermediate elbow-shaped conduit part, and flexible fluid-conducting connections between said parts, including hinge pintle members having closed ends and transverse fluid-conducting passages, the longitudinal axes of said conduit parts and passages being in substantially t e same plane, so that the conduit is free from lateral bends, said elbow-shaped part including a relatively portion, a relatively horizontal portion, an an arcuate bend connecting said portions and in the same plane therewith.

2. A flexible conduit element comprising a terminal conduit part adapted to be fixedly secured, a movable terminal conduit part provided with a coupling member, an intermediate elbow-shaped conduit part, flexible fluid-conducting connections between said parts, including externally cylindrical hinge pintle members having closed ends and transverse fluid-conducting passages, the longitudinal axes of said conduit parts and passages being in substantially the same A and passages.

3. A flexible conduit element comprising va terminal conduit part adapted to be fixedlysecured, a movable terminal conduit part provided with a coupling member, an intermediate elbow-shaped conduit part including `a relatively vertical portion, a relatively horizontal portion and an arcuate bend connecting said portions and in substantially the same plane therewith, flexible fluid-conducting connections between the fixed terminal part and the vertical portion of the elbow-shaped part having means permitting said vertical portion to turn on a relatively vertical axis and to swing on a relatively horizontal axis, and flexible fluid-conducting connections between the-horizontal portion of the elbow-shaped conduit part and the movable terminal part including male and female swivel joint members permitting the movable terminal part and its coupling member to turn on an axis substantially coaxial with said horizontal portion, and coacting hinge members permitting upward and downward movement of said movable terminal part and its coupling member.

4. A flexible conduit element comprising a terminal conduit part adapted to be fixedly secured, and provided with a male swivel joint member having a relatively vertical axis, a movable terminal conduit part provided at one end with a hinge pintle member whose axis is relatively horizontal and is at right angles with the axis of the movable conduit part, an intermediate elbowshaped conduit part including first, a relatively vertical portion provided with a hinge pintle member whose axis is relatively horlzontal and is at right angles with the axis of the vertical portion, and secondly, a relatively horizontal portion provided with a male swivel joint member coaxial with the horizontal portion, and two-fluidconducting T heads, each including a female swivel joint member and a hinge socket member, said heads connecting the said conduit parts, and permitting the vertical portion of vthe elbow-shaped conduit part to Iturn on a relatively vertical axis and to swing on a relatively horizontal axis, and the movable terminal conduit part to swing on a relatively horizontal axis at right angles with said horizontal portion and to turn on an axis coaxial with the latter.

5. A flexible U-shaped conduit, comprising terminal conduit parts adapted to be nfiedly secured, end eeen provided Witli s male swivel joint member kering e reletively vertieelanis, elbow-shaped Conduit parte eeen including iirst s relatively vertieel portionprovided with e hinge pintle member Whose nfris1 is relatively horizontal end is et right angles with the airis o-l the. said Vertical portion, and secondly e reletiveiy horizontal portion provided with e male swivel joint member coezriel vwith seid horizontal portion, duid-Conducting T needs connecting seid iiXed and elbow-shaped parte, eeen need including a female swivel joint member end hinge socket member, seid needs permitting the Vertical portions of tieeibotr-slisped ports to turn on relativelf vertical elses and to swing on relatively borizontel ezes, end central ijlexible fluid-oondncting means between 1 the horizontal portions the elbow-shaped conduit parte, inoludingd coasting swivel joint members substs'ntieilj/ coaxial with seid horizontal portions and coasting binge members permitting upward and downward movements o seid horizontal portions and of the' @entrai veondnieting means.

6. 'A flexible conduit elementcomprising two spaced apertoonduit parte, the longitudinal etres of which are in substantially the seme plene, one oi" seid parte having e mele swivel joint member eoeiiel therewith, and the other part leaving s. binge pintle .member Whose exis is et right singles with the exis of `swivel joint' membei, e T heed interposed between and connecting seid conduit their longitudinesnes sul tiel e plane, ssi

` 'ioluf el joint n having e recessed inner end conforming to e portion of the periphery o1e said pintle member, and ineens for yieldingly pressing seid gasket against the pintle member, the

longitudinal axis oi3 said gasket being in substantially the same plane with the axes of said conduit parte and passage,

7. A idexible oonduitinoluding an internally cylindriealrrhinge socket member lievng a tubular nipple'at one side and a segmental slot in the opposite side, e duid-conducting externally cylindrical hinge pintle member formed to turn in seid socket member, a oompressible annular gasket in seid nipple having s recessed inner end conforming to e portion ot the periphery oi the pintle member, means ior yieldingly pressing seid gasket against the pintle member, said means including e spring-pressed ring having a beveled fece adapted to press one end oi said gasket radially outward, e conduit part ette-tened to and Communiesting with the interior of the soelret member, s Conduit part attached to and communicating with pintle member end extending through the slot in the socket member, and a gland listing a screw-thread engagement with the outer end ot tne nipple and adapted to Conseit spring in its operative position.

.ln testimony whereof lieve eilixed my 

